Don’t use accountancy tricks, CJ tells Durrani’s lawyer

Justice Bandial calls for expediting process to dispose of pending cases

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday reprimanded Salman Akram Raja, the counsel for Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, for using “accountancy tricks” before the court.

The three-member bench headed by the top judge resumed hearing the bail plea of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, when Raja took the position that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had assessed his client’s income from 2007.

He told the bench that Durrani had been filing returns since 2007, while he had a life prior to that as well. He added that the political leader had been contesting elections since 1985, and came from a rich family.

Raja said that NAB evaluated the assets’ value in today’s figures whereas they were not so expensive when they were purchased.

To this, Justice Ayesha A Malik said that the issue is not about whether the property’s price was high or low.

The top judge then said that in order to estimate the value of the assets at the time of purchase, the purchase deed must be submitted. He added that the lawyer was citing PPP leader Khursheed Shah’s case, whereas all the properties were purchased at DC rate. He told Raja not to play “accountancy tricks” with the court.

He told the counsel that he has changed the case in a day, after arguing for two days. He highlighted that a newspaper had reported on pending cases on Thursday, adding that if the court continues to hear arguments for days at end, then cases pending for 20 years cannot be disposed of. He further said that they would have to opt for written arguments like they do in the United States.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that if a lawyer gives his arguments for 30 minutes in the United States then a red light goes on.

Pointing out that the top court has disposed of as many cases as were filed lately, he said that the process needs to speed up. He also sought suggestions in this regard.

The bench of the apex court also sought final arguments in the next week, and adjourned the hearing.